Last year, the Justice Department issued a letter to chief justices and state court administrators around the nation to help clarify the obligation “to provide oral interpretation, written translation and other language services to to people who are LEP.” Since then, the Department had been investigating a complaint alleging that Colorado State Judicial, which receives federal funding, was not in compliance with Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, and the nondiscrimination provisions of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968. These two acts prohibit discrimination on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, or religion by recipients of federal assistance.

Today’s agreement resolves that investigation and, accordingly, Chief Justice Bender has issued a comprehensive Directive that provides for free and competent interpreter services in all criminal and civil proceedings, as well as court operations. Drafting the Directive was a collaborative effort between state court officials, judges, administrators, and community experts.

Additionally, the Colorado Judicial Department will develop state and local language access plans in conjunction with the DOJ, addressing both oral interpretation and the translation of vital written documents. The existing Court Interpreter Oversight Committee will be expanded to include a Colorado Legal Services attorney, a prosecutor, a public defender, an advocate representing the interests of the language minority populations in Colorado, and other members who have relevant experience in court language access issues. This committee will have the opportunity to provide feedback on the directive, the state and district plans, and implementation efforts.

The Chief Justice Directive implementing the changes to interpreter services can be read here. Additionally, two other CJDs were amended to account for the changes, and they can be read here and here.

Search

Featured CLE: March 13, 2015

About CBA-CLE Legal Connection

CBA CLE Legal Connection is published by Colorado Bar Association CLE (also known as CLE in Colorado, Inc.). It is focused on delivering timely resources, updates and continuing legal education to … [Read More...]

Want to hear more from CBA-CLE Legal Connection?

Featured Homestudy: Business Law Institute

Does an employer’s drug-free workplace policy trump an employee’s use of medical marijuana to treat medical conditions that may qualify as a disability? Yes, according to a recent decision by a Colorado federal judge. In Curry v. MillerCoors, Inc., Judge John Kane rejected a terminated employee’s claim that his employer discriminated against him on the basis of his disability when it discharged him for testing positive for marijuana. Read more about this case and others in the Business Law Institute homestudy - click here to order!

Law Practice Tip of the Week

Solo Tip Tuesday: Keep Track of Requests You've Made of Others in a Folder Called @WFFThis could be my all-time favorite tip. We often use email to ask someone to send us something, or check on something and get back to us, etc. Sending the email is the easy part. The hard part is keeping track of what you asked for and when, and then remembering to follow up when the person doesn’t get back to you. Click here to read more.

Archives

Latest Posts

A creditor obtains a judgment against Hocker for $4.4 million, and seeks to levy and execute upon Hocker’s shares in the Highland Ditch Company. Hocker owns an undivided 50 percent interest in two and three-quarter shares of Highland stock. The Highland shares represent Hocker’s right to use water that runs through a mutually owned ditch, a branch of which leads to a pond on the 35-acre farm that Hocker owns with her husband. Hocker files a claim under the homestead exemption, asserting that the shares, which represent water rights appurtenant to her farm, could not be levied. The court denies Hocker’s claim of exemption, and Hocker appeals.